The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Our God has said: "Encourage my people!
Give them comfort." ~ Isaiah 40:1 (CEV)
The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost. ~ Luke 19:10 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Be encouraged because Jesus is looking out for you!
PRAYER:
Lord, I've heard so much bad preaching that I'm afraid of Jesus a lot of the time. I'm afraid that I'm going to offend him. I'm afraid that he is like a traffic cop looking for any way that I might be violating your laws. I need to repent of that way of thinking. Help me to see Jesus as the one who is seeking to help me and care for me. I know that you love me. Help me to let the knowledge of your love define the way that I live. Amen.
Your faithful love is priceless, God!
Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings. ~ Psalm 36:7 (CEB)
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! ~ Hebrews 10:35 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
We need to find our home place in the safe company of Jesus.
PRAYER:
This world seems so cruel, Lord God. Health and strength are such fleeting treasures. Then I consider my Savior. I remember his call to follow and fear not. I remember that Jesus' confidence in your power to redeem also frees us to give ourselves away in love -- hoarding nothing. In the company of Jesus, I fear nothing. Hallelujah! Amen. (Daily Texts,
Mount Carmel Ministries edition, altered)
Who can tell God what to do?
He judges powerful rulers. ~ Job 21:22 (CEV)
And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” ~ 1 Peter 5:5 (GNT)
KEY IDEA:
Humility always looks good on you.
PRAYER:
Lord, who can tell YOU what to do? Your wisdom and sense of justice are beyond our ability to understand. But that reality doesn't always throttle my attempt to try. I am way too opinionated. With gentleness help me to learn humility so that I can serve you well. Amen.
When the Lord led his people through a hot, dry desert,
they did not suffer from thirst.
He made water come from a rock for them;
he split the rock open, and water flowed out. ~ Isaiah 48:21 (GNT)
Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it. ~ Revelation 22:17 (GNT)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord is eager to quench the thirst of his people -- whether it is physical thirst or spiritual thirst.
PRAYER:
Lord, you are generous. I take your generous provision for granted. Because of you I have more than enough of what I need. Thank you! Please continue to keep me aware of both the conventional and the sometimes unconventional ways you provide. I want to give you the recognition that you deserve and to help others see how much you care for thirsty people. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
